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 I was born in 1948. As a young boy, I loved the war-films, particularly those with airplanes and the radios that belonged to the airplanes. One day in 1959, I saw some people in our city doing something with radio stations. I watched, and then I followed them into a house, where a sign said "Mestsky radio-club (city-radio-club)." There were 6 or 8 people between 20 and 40 years old in the house. One of the oldest, the boss, was Franta, OK1OO.
They had meetings every Thursday evening and Sunday morning. Because I still was too young, I was not allowed to come on Thursdays, but I was always happy to come on Sundays. OK1OO didn't object. I told my friends at school about it and suddenly, another 6 boys came along to the radio-club. And we began using old German tank-stations without antennas between the rooms. Yes, that made me happy.
Furthermore, we could also overhear the real Amateur Radio-activity. Franta explained to us that besides amplitude-modulation, telegraphy is usable when working DX stations, and he showed us QSL cards from exotic stations. And then our CW practice started! Unfortunately, after 9 months out of the 7 boys,
I was the only one remaining in the radio-club, but I liked CW and didn´t find it hard to learn.

Franta showed me how I could build a simple summer. He gave me a CW-key, so I could practice at home. My mother assisted me and she enjoyed it because she had learned some telegraphy as a scout. My parents were happy to have no problems with me and soon, I was allowed to go to the radio-club on Thursday evenings. One day in March 1961, Franta let me make a CW QSO on 160 meters. Ah, that was beautiful!
With 50 LPM I had a QSO with another friend. Only condition, I had to use the name of the other OM from the radio-club. At that time, it was unimaginable to transmit without an examination.
I practiced my CW knowledge during the "Monday CW contests" in the winter 1961. There, I didn't need to give any name. Only report and the contest number. In the first contest, I was not the last one, but the third from the bottom. Everyone in the radio club said, it was good not to get the last place in a contest for the first time!
That was encouraging for me and I wanted to do better and better in the contests. After some contests, I was the third from the top, but I could only operate on CW because the young voice would be suspicious on the band.
In May, 1963, I passed my first AFU examination and got the SWL number OK1-12642, and became allowed to operate, using my own name from the club-station under the supervision of a licensed operator.
Besides CW I enjoyed AM contacts on VHF. Working DX on HF was still nothing for me because I was only 15 years old at that time and I didn´t know any foreign language except some Russian.
I got my first own call, OL4ACF on 1 May, 1964. That was the license for young Radio Amateurs in OK, who were allowed to operate CW on 160 Meters with 10 watts. On 1 August, 1966, I got the call OK1ARH. Later, in 1980, after several successes in contests, I got OK1AR. Meanwhile, I finished practicing as a television-technician and for 2 years, I repaired television-sets. From 1 June, 1970, I worked as a professional firefighter and I was also in charge of communication, alarm, and communication equipment.
In the 70:s I was very active on 80 meters in AM and later also in SSB. I had many contacts with the (in those days) GDR, and of course also with DL. Thanks to these contacts, I learned German. At that time, it was impossible to learn another foreign language at school, except Russian. In the GDR, I also visited different Radio Amateurs and this became the best German training for me. Particularly, Fred DM2DYL (now DL2DXF) helped me at that time.
Fred speaks Czech just as well as German. I speak German better than I write it.
Therefore, since I was very active, I applied for many diplomas. I also heard about DIG, and since 1974, I am member, DIG 694. In 1981, I wanted to establish a DIG section in OK, but the state-police in Czechoslovakia, as well as the one in the GDR didn't sleep. And because of the work for DIG, I spent 13 hours with the Police in May, 1983 without any food or drink.
They told me that I propagated for DIG. DIG has its base in West-Germany. And if I supported DIG, I also supported West-Germany, and thus also capitalism, and that way I could not have a license in a socialistic state! I lost everything, also the possibility to work from the club-station. I was not allowed to say anything at all about it because I might also lose my work with the fire brigade.
Only after the change in December 1989, I got my license back again.
Unfortunately, after the pause, I am not as active as before.
I like to participate in the 2 Meter contests and I have won almost all of them in OK. I am not very often QRV on the HF bands, because when I come home from a VHF contest, it is time to prepare for the next one. Always something has to be improved, always something new to try.
I don't have a good location for VHF at home, and therefore I operate from a portable location in the contests. Now from JO60RA, at 594 meters ASL.

A few years ago, I was often operating from the highest mountain in Erzgebirge, Keilberg, (JO60LJ) at 1224 meters ASL. I have more than 500 Amateur Radio diplomas and 67 trophies, goblets and badges for winning different contests. In our one-family house you will find my wife, OK1UYL /new OK5AR/ and both our daughters, OK1ARH /new OK7AR/ and OK1TZR /new OK6AR/, as well as the City-club-station OK1KIT, and the club-station of the OK - DIG section, OL5DIG, can also be heard from here. One can say our house is fully radioactive! At the moment, I use an IC746PRO, a home made PA with 2xGI70BT, for VHF with circa 700 watts output, and a 2 x 9 element Yagi on a 13,5 meters high tower. All this from a camper. The daughters and my wife have their separate stations, because they also participate in the contests. For HF I also have an FT890 and an old SB200 PA, besides the IC746PRO. Unfortunately I have big problems with my health. A slipped disk, something which is very painful. I was in sick person-stand from January until July in 2006 Therefore I was not QRV in the first 3 contests, and I must be careful in future contests. Also in the last contest, I partially took part with pains. Because of the health problems, I had to finish my work with the fire brigade at the end of 2006. Slowly, I must think of my situation, and if it is no longer possible to participate in the VHF contests, I will get back again on the HF bands!
Zdenek seems to win every contest! A close look at his newly renovated shack. It´s beautiful!